“The Master of Xue Long has confirmed to AMSA that the ship is safe, it is not in distress and does not require assistance at this time. There is no immediate danger to personnel on board the Xue Long. The Xue Long has advised AMSA it has food supplies for several weeks.”

It appears, the authority adds, that the captains of the Xue Long and the Akademic Shokalskiy have agreed that their ships can “provide mutual support to each other” until they’re both able to break free, hopefully in coming days or weeks. They’re said to be several miles apart.

It was a helicopter from the Xue Long that flew the stranded passengers to the Aurora Australis.

The Akademik Shokalskiy, which was about halfway into a month-long expedition, got stuck in the ice near Cape de la Motte in East Antarctica on Christmas Eve. The trip was an attempt to retrace the steps of Australian explorer Douglas Mawson, who led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14.